In 2019, the fourth edition of our flagship event moved from Goa to Kochi. It evolved from the IDFC Institute Dialogues to the Artha Dialogues. But the core philosophy remained the same: to bring together a highly curated group of policymakers, academics, practitioners and policymakers to address some of India's most difficult political economy and state capacity problems. Some of these issues, like justice delivery, go back decades. Others, like managing India's urban transition effectively and maximising the data-rich environment's public benefits while minimising harms, are becoming more pressing as the economy and the state evolve.
We have found that breaking down silos and bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders and thinkers often results in creative, unexpected approaches to such questions. As with previous editions of the Dialogues, we will facilitate, shepherd and help implement the initiatives that came out of it.
The event was off-the-record, as it always is. It was co-chaired by Rajiv Lall (Chairman, Advisory Board, IDFC Institute) and KP Krishnan (Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India).
Attendees included: Tony Blair (former Prime Minister, UK); Chang-Tai Hsieh (Phyllis and Irwin Winkelried Professor of Economics at University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business); Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul (Judge, Supreme Court of India); Justice Jasti Chelameswar (former Judge, Supreme Court of India); Ram Madhav (National General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party); Anup Malani (Lee and Brena Freeman Professor at University of Chicago Law School and Professor at Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago); Angela Hawken (Professor of Public Policy, Marron Institute of Public Policy, New York University); Rathin Roy (Director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy); Rajiv Kumar (Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog); Vini Mahajan (Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Punjab); M Sivasankar (Secretary to the Chief Minister, Government of Kerala); Neelkanth Mishra (Managing Director, Co-Head of Asia Pacific Strategy and India Strategist for Credit Suisse); Shashi Verma (Chief Transport Officer, Transport for London).
